Burning the Midnight Oil
by traciepwns
Summary: What happened between the time Sully left Brennan in the interrogation room and the next morning at the marina? Missing scene fic  Boneless Bride in the River.


In his office, Booth sat behind the desk, rhythmically tapping his pencil on it, and staring at a pile of paperwork.. He had hoped that by staying late at work, he'd be able to make some kind of noticeable dent, but no such luck. The conversation he had with Brennan earlier at the graveyard kept replaying itself in his head. She was really going to leave. For a year. He had wanted to tell her to stay, but what right did he have? After being relentlessly teased by Booth for her poor choice of men, she finally had a good one. So who was he stand in her way? They both knew there was something more between them, something that went beyond the realm of partnership or friendship. But, Booth had drawn that line months ago, deciding that living in denial was a lot easier than longing for something that they both agreed they could never have. Deep in thought, he was unaware that someone was standing in the threshold of his office. 

"Hey, Booth. Burning the midnight oil?" Sully asked, wandering into the office and sitting in the chair in front of Booth's desk.

"Yeah, something like that," he said, lightly laughing. "I was just trying to finish up some paperwork."

"You? Doing paperwork at 8 o'clock on a Friday night? No hot date?" Sully commented, while shrugging off his jacket.

"Well, it's gotta get done somehow because it sure isn't going to take care of itself." The two men laughed then fell into a short period of silence. They had been friends for years, but ever since Sully started dating Brennan things had been a bit awkward between them at times, especially when Sully would come to Booth for advice. As hard as he tried to be objective, Booth sometimes faltered and was caught off guard. Those were the times Sully would catch him and call him on it. Thankfully, now wasn't one of those times. "Hey, aren't you guys leaving tomorrow? Shouldn't you be packing or doing whatever you do to get that boat of yours running?"

Sully adjusted his position in the chair and looked up at Booth. "She said no."

"Wait, what?" Booth stammered as he propped himself forward in his chair. "What do you mean, 'she said no?'"

"Brennan," Sully stated. "She's not coming with me."

For just a split second, Booth was elated by the news that Bones had decided to stay in DC, but as soon as he looked at Sully's face he realized how upset his friend was. He knew that Sully cared about her. Putting himself in Sully's shoes, he knew exactly how he would have felt if she had left.

"Sully, man. I'm sorry. I know how excited you were for this. I told her that she should go..." he trailed off.

"I know. She told me. She said work is what's keeping her here, but I have a feeling it's something more - or rather, someone else." He eyed Booth.

"Look, I told you," Booth said as he stood up and started to pace slowly. "There is nothing going on between me and Bones. We're partners..."

"Methinks thou dost protest too much."

"What?"

"Don't you ever feel like a broken record?" Sully asked. "Repeating the same mantra, every time someone asks about you two? What I'm wondering, though, is who you are trying to convince? Us or yourself? Whether you want to admit it or not, Booth, there's something between the two of you. Granted, I think you guys have a long way to go before you're ready to accept that, but it's there."

"Sul, you just don't get it."

"What is there to get?"

"Bones and I, we can't ever be involved...romantically. We've agreed that there's way too much at stake. She deserves to be with a good guy and to be happy and for once, she's found that in you. You know that when she gets scared, she pushes people away. Why are you letting her do it?"

"I'm not. I tried, Booth, but we have different goals right now. I'm a strong believer in letting people make their own decisions. I've had way too many people in the past try to control my life and question my choices. I wouldn't put my life on hold for them so how can I expect Brennan to put hers on hold for me?"

"She's worth it, man."

"I know she is. That's why I'm letting her go. She needs to figure out exactly what's going on in that over-analytical brain of hers. And, when I get back, if we're meant to be we'll find our way back to each other. But, if things turn out differently I can accept that too." He paused. "I need you to do a favor for me."

"What kind of a favor, Sully? Because last time..."

"No," he laughed. "Nothing like that at all. I just need you to be there for her tomorrow when I leave. You and I both know that she's going to pretend to be fine with it, but I know this is hard on her. I saw it in her eyes right before I left the interrogation room."

"Yeah, and this probably won't bode well for her abandonment issues," Booth stated, as he finally stopped pacing and returned to his chair.

"Hey, I asked her to go..." Sully started, defensively.

"I know, Sul. I wasn't judging." Booth leaned back and propped his legs up on the desk. "I just know it's hard for her. She's afraid to open up to people because she believes that it's inevitable that they'll wind up leaving. And with her father and brother taking off again only a few months ago, those emotions are still raw. Even though she had a choice this time, the results are still the same. Someone she cares about is leaving her behind."

"What am I supposed to do, Booth? After Dennis was killed, I swore to myself that I was going to take every opportunity I could and that when I felt like I wasn't happy with my career, I would get out or at least take a break. If I don't do this now, I'm going to become one of those jaded agents who doesn't give a shit about his job and becomes a pawn for 'the man.' I don't want to become that guy. Someone can only take so much death and mutilation before they need a break from it all, you know what I mean? I just don't understand how she can deal with it constantly, day in and day out, and not have it effect her."

"It does, more than she lets on. But she also knows that her job is important. Bones gives a voice to the dead and gives their families a sense of closure in knowing what happened≈which was something she didn't have for most of her life. It makes her feel like she has a purpose in the world."

"Yeah, I can see that." Sully said. "I guess that's what they mean when they say opposites attract. She gets joy out of being in a lab, identifying bones, while I prefer sipping a nice cold beer on a warm, sunny beach."

"If only you knew her when I first met her, Sul. She's come a long way, and you've definitely had something to do with that. Hell, she actually leaves work before 8pm now. That's says a lot."

"Hey, it wasn't all my doing. I'm sure you and Angela did a pretty good job corrupting her way before I came along," Sully laughed and then turned serious again. "This wasn't an easy decision for me either, Booth. I thought about staying. Really, I did. But I didn't want it to ever turn into one of those situations where I wind up resenting my decision and, in turn, wind up resenting her. I love her and I'm going to miss her like crazy, Booth, but I can't stay." He paused, glancing at his friend. "And, oh my god, in bed she's just┘"

Booth immediately sat up straight and put his hands up in the air, halting Sully mid sentence. "Okay, we don't really need to go there, do we?"

"Sorry, I forgot. You don't like discussing sex."

"I never≈" Booth started, getting flustered. "Why do you people think I have issues talking about sex? Bones says the same thing. I don't have issues, I just don't feel comfortable talking about it with her."

"Or to me about sex with her," Sully said triumphantly. Booth scrunched up his face in reaction to Sully's comment as he watched Sully walk over to the bookshelf in the far corner of the office. "I'm telling you, Booth. For someone who claims that he doesn't have the hots for his partner, you sure have a funny way of showing it."

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After what seemed like hours, Brennan decided that she wasn't going to get anything accomplished by hiding out in the interrogation room all night. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she gathered her things and headed down the hallway. As she passed Booth's office, out of the corner of her eye she saw that his light was still on so She decided to see if, by chance, he was still around. She stopped and paused in his doorway.

"Hey, Bones." Booth said, sitting upright as he noticed her standing there. "What are you doing here so late?"

"I should be asking you the same thing," she countered as she walked into the office.

"Paperwork," he stated, pointing to the piles of folders still sitting on his desk. "And, last time I checked, this was FBI Headquarters. I thought you left hours ago."

"Looks like that's going well, huh?" she joked, pointing at the paperwork and sitting across from him. "And no, I didn't. Sully and I┘" Brennan trailed off.

"I know, Bones. He was here a few minutes ago. The guy seemed crushed."

"Do you think I made the wrong decision?"

"Nah. No decision would have been wrong, Bones. I'm sure you over analyzed the crap out of every possible outcome. Besides, who am I to argue with logic?"

"When don't you?" She retorted.

"Only when I know I'm right."

Brennan smiled at him. She missed this. She missed the banter. Ever since the conversation they had shortly after Epps died, she had noticed a slight change in Booth. She might not be able to read people, but she had gotten pretty good at reading Booth over the years. And ever since that day, it seemed like he had been trying to keep her at arms length. He wasn't cold or distant, just different. Even though she couldn't put her finger on exactly what was different about him. She knew that he supported her relationship with Sully, but whenever the three of them were in the room together he seemed to get uncomfortable. He and Sully had been friends for a long time so she never quite understood why he reacted the way he did.

Booth got up and sat down next to her in the chair, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, Bones. You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Booth. Just got lost in thought."

"Feel like stopping at the diner for some food?"

"Yeah, I'd like that. But, one condition, I'm driving." She got up, grabbed his keys off the desk and headed towards the door before he could protest but she stopped dead in her tracks when she nearly ran straight into Sully. The two of them stared at each other for a few minutes before anyone said anything.

"Hey, guys, sorry to interrupt." He paused, looking back and forth between Booth and Brennan. "I just left my keys on the bookshelf." He walking past them and grabbed the object in question off the shelf.

"No problem, Sul. We were just heading out for some food." Booth shifted uncomfortably, moving his hands to his pockets. He knew there was a lot his friend and Brennan needed to say to each other before Sully left in the morning. That wouldn't happen if she left with Booth now. "Ya know what? Why don't you two go on ahead without me." Booth turned away from the two of them, walked to his desk, and sat down.

"But Booth..." Brennan began to protest.

"I, um, just realized that there's a report that uh, I really need to finish up tonight. Totally slipped my mind earlier, go figure. The new Deputy Director will have my head if I don't get it to him first thing in the morning." Sorting through the files, he pulled one out "See?" He said, pointing to the folder. "Needs to get done."

"Are you sure, Booth? Really, I didn't mean to interrupt," Sully said.

"Definitely. If I finish up here soon, maybe I'll catch up with you guys."

Brennan looked at Booth as Sully put his arm around her back and started to lead her out of the office. She knew his excuse was just that, an excuse, but she knew his intentions were good. When they were about halfway down the hallway, Sully paused and turned to her. "Could you wait for me downstairs? I need a minute with Booth."

"Okay..." she said as she looked at him questioningly. "Why don't I just meet you there?"

"Sure." He watched her as she turned to walk away. "Oh, and Tempe?" she turned back around and looked at him. "Thanks." He watched as she smiled and walked down the hallway. A few seconds later he found himself outside Booth's office and watched briefly as the agent appeared to be lost in thought. Knocking lightly on the doorframe, he entered the office again as Booth looked up at him.

"Hey, forget your keys again? I thought you'd be halfway to the diner by now," Booth joked.

"Look, Booth, thanks. I know what you just did there and I really appreciate it."

"Me, what did I do?" He feigned innocence. "No problem, Sul. You guys need to talk."

"I owe ya one."

"And I'll be sure to collect when you get back." Booth smiled. "Now, get out of here. It's your last night and you have a incredible woman waiting for you. Go and have fun."

"Tomorrow morning, you'll be there, right?"

"Most definitely."

And with that, Sully turned and walked away as Booth began packing up his stuff to head home.

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A/N - I wrote another missing scene fic for this episode, back in March, called "Sixty Hours" that picks up after Brennan & Booth leave the marina. If you liked this, you should check that one out too. Feedback is always appreciated :)


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